Police
Chief Canter reported that there were a series of vehicle break-ins over the past few weeks. He stated that Detective Williams investigated and ultimately arrested two suspects, who were heroin abusers trying to feed their habit. It was discovered that the same two suspects were also responsible for home break-ins in Solon and Orange. Chief Canter stated that Ordinance 2014-45 which will be discussed tonight, relates to the donation of a Village police vehicle to the City of Hamersville. He explained that the Moreland Hills Police Department no longer has use for this vehicle as it has over 100,000 miles and the our Village would only receive between $2,000 and $2,500 for it if it was sold online. The City of Hamersville is seriously in need because of the two vehicles they currently have, one is broken down and the other has over 200,000 miles on it. Hamersville also had a suspect who after leading police on a high speed chase, drove his car through their municipal building which furthers their need for the car because of their lack of funds. Chief Canter also reported that the Police Department responded to 473 calls in the month of June.

Building Department
Mr. Filarski reported that the for the second quarter, the Building Department has performed 115 permit inspections, 19 complaint inspections, 22 Point of Sale inspections, and has had 6 meetings and consultations.

Service Department
Mr. DeWater reported that the new automated rubbish collection is progressing slowly as it relates to resident compliance in purchasing the new carts, but the Service Department is working on getting 100% compliance. He stated that with the old front loader rubbish truck, the rubbish collection would not be finished until 3:00pm every day, but with the new automated truck, they have been finishing before noon and it has also been much safer as the workers do not have to stand in traffic anymore to pick up the rubbish.

Finance
Mr. Shah reported that the income tax collection is 3% lower than last year. He stated that the Village will be receiving a rebate which will off-set the amount for the year. Mr. Shah stated that this is the last year for inheritance tax collection and so far this year, $178,000 has been collected.

REPORTS OF COMMITTEES

Roads & Safety:
Mr. Buczek reported that the Roads & Safety Committee met on June 24, 2014. He stated that resident Tracy Blake was in attendance regarding runoff water on his property, which has been going on for many years. He stated that Mr. Filarski explained the water flow problem affecting the Blake property and further explained that the Village has awarded a contract for the installation of a bio-cell along the street drainage ditch to alleviate the runoff problem. This biocell will be evaluated for its effectiveness and, if necessary, a drainage pipe will be installed across the property. Mr. Buczek stated that an ordinance on the agenda tonight regarding no hand-held electronic devices while driving was also discussed at the meeting. The next meeting will be July 22, 2014.

Facilities:
Mr. Richman reported that the Facilities Committee met on June 24, 2014. He stated that they discussed resident concerns from the Winterberry Watermain project which are being addressed. The re-bidding of the Sewer Rehabilitation project was discussed; there is an ordinance on the agenda tonight awarding that contract. Mr. Richman stated that the Community Building project was discussed and there is an ordinance on the agenda tonight awarding that contract as well. He stated that the opening of the Garfield Cabin was a success.

Board of Zoning Appeals:
Mr. Fritz reported that the BZA met on June 23, 2014. He stated that a land owner on Glen Road who owned two (2) lots and entered into an agreement to sell one (1) of those lots which was to include a 56 x 225 foot section of land from the lot that was not being sold. The sale of the land went through in February 2014. The land owner (seller) came before the Board to request a lot split in order to give that section of his property to the buyer of the other lot; however, by doing this, it would make that lot non-conforming. Mr. Fritz stated that ultimately the members agreed that the two-acre zoning was very important and also that this is more of a contract issue between the buyer and seller. The applicant decided to withdraw his request. The other item that appeared before the BZA was for a driveway for the 20 acre property off Bentleyville Road which was purchased from Mr. Flescher, who had been before the Board previously for a larger scale plan that included multiple homes. The Weber’s, who purchased the property from Mr. Flescher, are planning on building one home which needs a driveway to service it. The home will be in the Chagrin Falls side of the property (12 acres are in Chagrin Falls and 8 acres are in Moreland Hills). Mr. Weber was seeking a variance on the grade of the driveway. He was proposing 12% grade and the requirement is 10%; however with his proposal, the driveway would actually be shorter, create less impact on the hillside, and would be further away from the neighboring properties. The variance was granted.

Planning Commission:
Mr. Fritz reported that the Planning Commission met on June 23, 2014, immediately after the BZA Meeting. He stated that since Mr. Weber received the variance for the driveway at the BZA meeting, he then appeared before the Planning Commission for the driveway, which was approved, contingent upon final landscape plans. Mr. Fritz stated that another item of note was a proposed new dwelling on Berkeley Lane. They are in the process of creating a Homeowner’s Association which is required; however there were still a lot of outstanding issues so the item was tabled.

ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS:

Ordinance 2014-38 (2nd Reading) – Introduced by Mr. Buczek
an ordinance amending section 331.43, “text messaging while driving,” of chapter 331, “operation generally,” of the codified ordinances of the village of moreland hills.

Mr. Buczek stated that this ordinance was discussed at the Committee of the Whole as well as at the Roads & Safety Committee. He stated that it would make the utilization of all hand-held devices (cell phone, GPS, etc.) while driving, a primary offense, unless it is an emergency or if they are used in a “hands-free” manner.

Mr. Buczek made a motion seconded by Mr. Stanard to suspend the rules for Ordinance 2014-38.

Ordinance 2014-46 – Introduced by Ms. Sturgis
an ordinance authorizing and directing the submission to the electors of the village of moreland hills, ohio of an amendment to article viii, section 2 of the charter of the village of moreland hills, ohio to be voted upon at the next regular election on november 4, 2014, and declaring an emergency.

Ms. Sturgis made a motion seconded by Mr. Buczek to suspend the rules for Ordinance 2014-46.

At this time, Mayor Renda introduced Mr. Sam Steinhouse, who was the Chair of the Charter Review Commission, and asked that he introduce this Ordinance as well as ordinances 2014-47 and 2014-48, as they all pertain to the proposed Charter amendments.

Mr. Steinhouse stated that the nine members of this Commission met four times. Since the Charter Review Commission six years ago did a very thorough and extensive review of the Charter, this year’s Commission started at a good point. Mr. Steinhouse stated that they reviewed the work that was done previously, researched other Charters of surrounding communities, and received input from Council, the Mayor and Mrs. Cannon. He stated that in the end, the Commission ended up looking at four issues, one of which was brought up 6 years ago; changing the number of Council Members from 6 to 7. After discussing it, it was decided not to bring that item to Council. Mr. Steinhouse stated that Mr. Richman brought up the issue of designating a Vice-President of Council and creating a different method of succession than what is currently in place, as well as changing the Planning Commission terms. It was ultimately decided not to recommend those items. He stated that there are three items that the Commission is recommending; the first is to remove the term of the Treasurer. The Commission came to the conclusion that it made sense to remove the terms for that position as well as that of the Law Director, which is the second recommendation. The last recommendation is to change the method of notification as it relates to rezoning. This was the only section of the Charter that had the method of a newspaper of general circulation specified. It was decided to remove that reference and leave it up to Council to specify the method of notification. Mr. Steinhouse stated that the process went well and that he and the other members appreciate the ability to participate in this process.

Mayor Renda thanked Mr. Steinhouse and Mr. Morrison for their service and stated that she appreciated the entire Commission’s service. Council concurred.

Ms. Sturgis made a motion seconded by Mr. Richman for passage of Ordinance 2014-46.

Ordinance 2014-47 – Introduced by Ms. Sturgis
an ordinance authorizing and directing the submission to the electors of the village of moreland hills, ohio of an amendment to article v, section 3 of the charter of the village of moreland hills, ohio to be voted upon at the next regular election on november 4, 2014, and declaring an emergency.

Ms. Sturgis made a motion seconded by Mr. Fritz to suspend the rules for Ordinance 2014-47.

Ordinance 2014-48 – Introduced by Ms. Sturgis
an ordinance authorizing and directing the submission to the electors of the village of moreland hills, ohio of an amendment to article v, section 2 of the charter of the village of moreland hills, ohio to be voted upon at the next regular election on november 4, 2014, and declaring an emergency.

Ms. Sturgis made a motion seconded by Mr. Stanard to suspend the rules for Ordinance 2014-48.

Mayor Renda informed Council that she has asked Mr. Sherck to present the finance ordinances for the rest of the year. She stated that Mr. Sherck has been working hard at getting acclimated as a Council member and he has had an interest in doing this from the beginning. Mr. Sherck thanked the Mayor and Mr. Shah for their help since he is still learning municipal finance.

He stated that the first item to amend the current appropriations is for the taxes on the BP property, which have already been paid, but were not included in the original appropriations. The Village will get the money back once we no longer have to pay those taxes, except for the year of acquisition. Mr. Sherck stated that the other two items are related to the bioswale on Hickory Lane. He stated that the return of advances to the general fund in the amount of $5,600 is related to the annual fire hydrant flushing. There are also the normal transfers to the Police Pension and the Police & Fire Levy. Mr. Sherck stated that there is another transfer to the Municipal License Tax to pay for the expenses that are charged for road repairs, etc.

Mr. Sherck made a motion seconded by Ms. Sturgis to suspend the rules for Ordinance 2014-49.

Ordinance 2014-50 – Introduced by Mr. Richman
an ordinance authorizing the mayor to enter into a contract with united survey, inc. for the 2014 sewer rehabilitation program and declaring an emergency.

Mr. Richman stated that the first time the bids were received for this project, the amounts were all higher than 10% above the Engineer’s estimate so the project needed to be re-bid. He stated that Mr. Filarski revised the scope of the project to reduce the program. The lowest and best bid was from United Survey.

Mr. Richman made a motion seconded by Mr. Fritz to suspend the rules for Ordinance 2014-50.

Ordinance 2014-51 – Introduced by Mr. Richman
an ordinance authorizing the mayor to enter into a contract with apex construction for the community building improvements project and declaring an emergency.

Mr. Richman made a motion seconded by Ms. Sturgis to suspend the rules for Ordinance 2014-51.

At this time Mr. Richman asked Mr. Pat Thornton, architect, to discuss this ordinance. Mr. Thornton stated that his firm received four bids for this project, three that were fairly close and one that was significantly lower than the others. He and Mr. DeWater met with the lowest bidder at the Community Building to make sure they understood the scope of the project. Together they identified some questions that Apex had regarding the bid packet. The issues were resolved which in turn revised the bid amount to $196,900.00. Mr. Thornton was satisfied that Apex Construction will do a good job for the Village and recommends that Council pass the ordinance. Mr. Thornton pointed out that his construction management services may increase. Mayor Renda pointed out that this was reasonable, especially given that Mr. Potts, who helped significantly with the Service Facility construction is no longer with us to help with that oversight.

A discussion ensued about the timeline, the bidding process, contingencies, and potential for change orders. Mrs. Cannon stated that legally she is comfortable with the process.

Mr. Richman made a motion seconded by Mr. Buczek for passage of Ordinance 2014-51.

Mr. Rob Kochas and his son Jared Kochas, residents of Giles Road, introduced themselves. Jared Kochas explained that in order to earn a particular Boy Scout Merit Badge, he had to attend a public meeting which is why he was in attendance this evening.

Mr. Buczek made a motion seconded by Ms. Sturgis to adjourn the Regular Council Meeting.